Strap grip or buckle.



PATE'NTED JULY 21, 1903,

J.. H. WALLACE. STRAP GRIP 0R BUCKLE.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 25. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

INVENTOI? win/E77 W/ TNE SSE S PATENT OFFICE."

JOHN H. wALLAoE',-oir THE BRAKE, ooUNTY 0F FIFE, SCOTLAND.

STRAP can? ioR BYUCPSLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of I Letters Patent no. 734,3e2, dated July 21, 1903*. Application filed February 1903. Serial ll'o. 145|11(l. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. WALLACE, a subject of the King of England, residing at The Brake, in the parish of Dunino, in the county of Fife, Scotland, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Strap Grips or Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

I have received Letters Patent of the United States, No. 702,166, for an improved strap grip or buckle for use in snafliing or hobbling horses and for connecting the ends of straps for any other purpose.

My present invention is embodied in an improved form of grip or buckle adapted to secure a strap by its automatic action, a tongue such as is usually employed in buckles being dispensed with. I

The details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts are as hereinafter described, reference being had to accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of my improved grip or buckle and illustrating its practical use. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the rear bars of the two frames or parts of the grip or buckle. Fig. '3 isa transverse central section of parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same parts when the grip is fully closed and the end of the strap secured. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of parts of the grip. or buckle detached from each other. Fig.6;is a view similar to Fig. 5, save that it illustrates a slight modification of the lower frame-section. Fig. 7 is a transverse section of the grip or buckle illustrated in Figs; 1 to 5. Fig. 8 is a transversesection of the form of grip or buckleillustrated in Fig. ,6.

I will first describe the form of buckle illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 and also in Fig. 7. The grip or buckle consists of two parts A and B, which are hinged together. The upper part or frame (see'Fig. 1) has a front bar 1, side bars 2, whose ends project at 3 past the front bar 1, a rear bar 4, and a central bar 5, which is depressed or supported below the remainder of the frame. constructed of cast malleable iron or some other metal having a certain degree of flexibility. The rear bar 4 is formed in the first instance as a flat plate and then bent into.

l l l. a...

The frame A is preferably 4 cylindrical form, so that it is adapted to Patented July 21, 1903.

' clasp around the rear bar 6 of the lower frame 'B. 1 The latter consists of a practically rectangular frame having parallel front and rear bars 7 6 and end bars 8, having downward bends or depressions 9. (See Figs. 3, 4.) The rear bar 6 of frame Bis'provided with a projection or lug 10, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) which works in a slot or notch 11, formed in the cylindrical rear bar4 of frame A. The function of this lug 10 is to limit the movement of the frame-sections A B on each other. Thus the two sections being hinged together are adapted to swing, as required, for permitting introduction of a strap 0 between their free ends,and the lug 10 by contact with the upper edge of the notch or slot 11 prevents the sections being, opened too far. In brief, thestop or lug limits the lift of the upper frame A, so that the same is always held in position for frictional contact of its front bar 1 with a strap 0 when passed upward betweenthe said bar 1 and the front bar 7 of the lower frame B, and is thus always in position to grip the said strap automatically when any tension is-applied to the body of the strap. Thus the said strap may be drawn freely between the bars or jaws 1 7, as required, to, tighten the strap for any purpose; but the same cannot be drawn back q or slipped, .sincethe upper-jaw or bar 1 is in constant contact with-the strap and closes on or grips the same automatically and forcibly the moment the pullon the free end of the strap is releasedand pressure or tension is applied to thebody of the strap below the buckle. or grip. Again, suppose the buckle or grip is applied to a saddle-girth or portmanteau-strap, in which case two or more pulls on the strap end, are. required to draw it tight, .the strap will be gripped by the buckle and held secure after each pull without any manual manipulation ofr the, buckle itself. Obviouslythisautomaticaction could not be depended upon without the aid of the carriers for binding-harvestersit is prefer- I able to employ two such lugs or stops, in

which case one will be located near each end of the frame-sections. the upper frame or frame-section A is depressed or hung below the plane of the main portion of the frame or section, as plainly indicated in Figs. 3,4. This construction avoids projection of the looped end of the strap 0' above the frame and also avoids asharp angle or bend of the strap where it passes out under the rear bar6 of the lower frame B. The angular depressions 9 in the lower frame B receive the depressed cross-bar 5 of the upper frame A, as will be understood by reference to the several Figs. 1, 3, 4, 5. It will be seen that the projecting ends 3 of the upper frame A prevent any lateral movement of the strap 0, and thus to a certain extent supplement the function of the lower frame in securing the lower strap in place when the buckle or grip is applied to machinery and also in other places where it is necessary to render the attachment specially secure, and for this purpose it is also advantageous to secure the free end of the strap which projects above the grip proper. An ordinary keeper is not quite efficient for the purpose; but by passing the free end of the strap 0 under the hinge formed by the bars 4 6 it is held close to the top of the buckle or grip, and the general security of the grip is greatly increased. The position referred to is indicated in Fig. 4, where the free end of the strap is bent down and carried under the hinge and held pressed fiat upon the other or looped portion 0 of the strap. It will be seen that the depression of the central bar 5 of frame A avoids any upward projection of the looped end of the strap 0', so that the free end 0 of the latter lies as flat as possible.

it In cases where unusual width of the grip or buckle frames is not objectionable the end bars b of the lower buckle-frame (see Figs. 6, 8) may be formed straight and may lie outside of the ends of the central bar 5 of the upper frame orsection. In brief, in such case the downward bends of the lower frameB are dispensed with, and the buckle-frame B is further differentiated by downward projection of its front bar 7, as indicated in Fig. 6. This construction is especially advantageous in the case of stout or thick straps, and the greater the thickness of the latter the greater will be the depression of the bar 7; but for light straps of all descriptions the front bar of the lower frame will in general be flat or not depressed, as above described.

It will be understood that in any of the modes of construction described the free end of the strap is passed upward between the front bars of the frames or frame-sections A B and is gripped and held tight after each pull,this action being automatic. Then when the strap is duly gripped ordrawn sufficiently tight the end is passed under the hinged portion of the grip and, if needful, also through a keeper behind the grip. In practice, however, the hinged portion of the grip or buckle will in general serve as the only keeper,which The central bar 5 of is always a very secure one. 7 To slacken the strap, we draw the end from the keeper, and while one hand slightly raises the upper frame A to release the automatic bite the other hand is employed to pull the strap down through the jaws of the grip.

It is apparent that by use of a grip or buckle of this construction the strap is not weakened by holes punched through it, as required with the ordinary tongued buckle, and hence a lighter strap may be used than is usually required; also, that the tightness of the strap does not depend on the position of the hole, and hence a finer or closer attachment of the strap may be efiected also, that when drawn tight the strap does not slack back to a certain degree, as in the case of an ordinary buckle. Again, in order to slacken a strap or remove it it is not necessary to first draw it tighter, as is required in the case of the ordinary tongued buckle, and, finally, my improved grip or buckle is more easily and quickly manipulated than the ordinary one, particularly when the strap is required to be quite taut or is liable-to become so.

The invention is applicable to a very great variety of fastenings in which a strap of leather, canvas, or cloth is required. It is, however, particularly useful as applied to canvases of self-binding reapers, since the canvas contracts when damp and lengthens when dry, and yet requires to be kept fairly taut for proper working on the rollers, so that the straps which secure it require to be frequently adjusted in the buckles. By means of my invention this operation is performed more easily and quickly than with the tongued buckle, and the tightness or slackness of the canvas may be more perfectly gaged. This advantage is a highly-important one in saving labor and time as well as in holding the canvas with exactly the tension desired.

What I claim is l. The improved grip or buckle comprising two frames hinged together and having gripping-jaws at their free edges and a stop at the rear edge for limiting the separation of the jaws, substantially as shown and described.

2. The improved grip or buckle comprising two ordinary rectangular frames which are hinged together at one side, the upper frame being clasped at its rear edge around the rear bar of the lower frame, and a stop consisting of a lug formed on the lower frame and adapted to engage the rotatable and hinged portion of the upper frame, for limiting the separation of the gripping-jaws, substantially as shown and described.

3. The improved buckle or grip composed of two practically rectangular frames having gripping-jaws at their front edges, the upper frame being clasped around the rear bar of the lower frame and provided with a notch in the claspiug portion, and the lower frame having a rear projection adapted to work in said notch and to engage the upper side of the same when the frames are separated for admission of the strap, substantially as shown and described.

i. The improved buckle or grip comprising an upper frame portion having a depressed central cross-bar to which a strap-loop is applied and the lower frame having end bars with downward bends or depressions adapted to receive such central bar of the upperframe, substantially as shown and described. v 5. The improved buckle or grip comprising an upper frame having a front bar that serves depressed below the plane of the remaining portion of such frame, the two frames being hinged together at their rear sides, substantially as shown and described. 1

JOHN H. WALLACE.

Witnesses: WM, B. BROWN, R. J. LANG. 

